


this is us, you know it on the inside

by indoordisco



Category: Daredevil (TV), Iron Fist (TV), Jessica Jones (TV), Luke Cage (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Defenders (Marvel TV), The Punisher (tv)
Genre: 5+1, F/F, F/M, I'm british but i tried to make my spelling american-y so if its a bit dodgy thats why, Multi, all of this is probably wrong / ooc i don't write big groups of people well, five times he met the defenders and one time he was one of them, goddamn we need more defenders fanfic, i really love karen page and wow does it show, smol awkward danny rand who is actually a 6 yr old inside, they drag DC a lot in this so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-13 23:53:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10524558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indoordisco/pseuds/indoordisco
Summary: But with this- this family, this team, the Defenders- he felt important. Like he was needed. Like he would be missed if he left.Maybe he was finally ready. To join them. To admit he was one of the Defenders.





	

**Author's Note:**

> the title is from human by aquilo. 
> 
> im sorry?? i feel like this could be so much better quality/so much longer but im kinda lazy so instead take my offering of 1.8k of weird jokes and wayyyy too many adjectives and hyphens. 
> 
> also i wrote this whilst still watching iron fist (in fact i havent seen the last ep yet so no spoilers) so god knows when it's actually set canon time wise??

It starts slowly, the Defenders. They get together a couple of months before Danny comes to New York, but the news is still buzzing with them. There are front pages titled ‘The Defenders: Avengers of Hell’s Kitchen!’ and ‘Are The Defenders really real?’. Every couple of weeks, there’s some scandal about a fight, and people arguing for and against them. Most of Harlem and at least half of Hell’s Kitchen are for them, but there are still people complaining that it’s not right, and ‘what if a Sokovia Accords type situation happens again?’. He’s not really sure what that is, but he knows it would be bad. 

 

Danny doesn't join them, not really, he just sort of meets them, one by one. 

 

**(I)**

 The first time he sees Karen, she’s on a roof, recorder and notebook in hand, crouched next to a figure washed out by the moon. The only things he can see of him: a white skull splashed across his chest and a military grade rifle in his hands. 

 

He fights next to the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen that night, back to back and surrounded by the Hand. The Devil’s style is similar to his, in that they’re both trained in martial arts, but the Devil’s is more grounded, fewer flips and more stability. He starts when Danny’s hand glows, although he’s turned away from him, so Danny has no idea how he can tell. They win, with help from the crouched figure nearby and his gun. The Devil tenses every time a shot rings through the air, but the bullets never kill, only hurt. Danny escapes with a few shallow cuts and a smattering of bruises, which is why he doesn't bother visiting Claire. If he had, he probably would've met them all a lot sooner. 

 

**(II)**

He meets Joy’s PI when he’s out investigating the board. She’s hidden well, sat between two walls, back to one and feet to the other, fifteen feet in the air. He only notices her because he’s on high alert. He starts when he spots her, but relaxes when she nods, slow and steady, and shows him her fist pressed against her flat palm. He smiles tentatively, and when he looks up four blocks later, there she is, run-jumping between buildings. The board members are up to all sorts, and by the time it’s dark, he has probably 50 photos. The PI jumps down as the board members leave, introducing herself as Jessica Jones and promising to send the photos along to Joy. It’s only when she leaves that he realizes she’s one of them. One of the Defenders. 

 

**(III)**

Claire texts him when her boyfriend gets out of jail, and he rents a car to get him- Luke, according to Claire- home. Home being Claire’s apartment.  Matt Murdock, who he knows vaguely through Karen and vaguely through the reports about Frank Castle, joins them, clapping Luke on the back and hovering nervously when a curly haired police officer appears, but she just smiles at Luke, brushes a hand over his shoulders and leaves. 

 

When some of Diamondback’s- who he knows about through Joy’s ‘what’s going on in the superworld?’ sessions with him- allies pounce on them a block from Claire’s, they’re ready. Luke- Luke Cage- doesn't really need that much protection, but it’s faster with them all there. As Danny leaves, he bows slightly towards Matt, and, in a low tone, says, “There was no need to hide from me, Devil.”

 

Matt coughs, his ears red, but corrects him. “Daredevil, actually.”

 

“Iron Fist. You probably already knew that, though.” He smiles at Matt. 

 

“Well, I’m Claire fucking Temple,” she interjects, “and it’s freezing cold, so can we drop the formalities?” Matt chuckles, low and rich, and follows her and Luke towards the apartment. 

 

“Coming, Danny?” Luke asks.

 

“Maybe next time.”

 

**(IV)**

 He meets Karen properly at a press meeting on the top floor of the Rand building. She asks him a question, something about his intentions going into the future, which causes a lot of nods and murmurs. As the rest of the press and staff file out, she stays, pressed close to a man in his late thirties. 

 

He’s clean shaven, and although he has a few yellowing bruises dotted across his face, Danny thinks- based on the scars- that he’s looked a lot worse. Karen smiles at Danny and introduces the man as Frank. 

 

“Castle,” he adds, “Frank Castle.”

 

“Oh- you're the,” he has the sense to lower his voice, “Murdock case.” 

 

He smiles gruffly, more of a twitch than a smile. “Well, more like the Karen Page case.”

 

She tuts, but she’s grinning, and her hand is intertwined with his. “I wanted to introduce you both since you see each other out in the field all the time.”

 

Frank nods, appreciative and almost respectful, and then they’re leaving, Karen adding, “Matt wants you to come round for drinks sometime. I’ll call you.”

 

“Bye, Karen, Frank.”

 

**(V)**

 Karen calls him. Says it’s a small group of people, celebrating Trish- Jessica’s girlfriend-’s birthday. He’s not really sure why he says yes. He supposes it’s her intrigue; she’s the last Defender he hasn't  met.

 

He knocks on the door, knuckles rapping against the ‘i’ in Alias Investigations. 

 

Trish opens the door, pink-cheeked and grinning, and grabs the expensive bottle of wine out of his hands. She makes an appreciative noise before kissing him on both cheeks. “Come on in, Danny.”

 

“Nice to meet you. Happy Birthday.” He says, his businessman training kicking in. 

 

She leads him into her living room, and they’re all there. All the Defenders. Karen raises a wine glass at him from where she’s tucked into the corner of the couch, Frank’s arm around her and her feet in Matt’s lap. There’s a chorus of ‘hi’s and ‘hello’s. He hovers, unsure where to sit until Claire pats a spot next to her, and he smiles, toeing off his shoes and sitting down. 

 

“We’re watching DC films and then later there’s cake.” Trish cheers from the kitchen. “Alright with you, rich boy?” Jessica asks through a mouthful of gin. 

 

“DC?” He asks quietly. 

 

“It’s a company. They make,” Karen waves her arms around dramatically, in danger of spilling her wine all over her boyfriends’ shirts. “superhero films. They're ridiculous.”

 

“Then, yeah, that sounds great.” Danny grins. 

 

Trish walks back in, carrying a tray laden with a whole variety of drinks. “Didn’t know what you wanted. There’s plenty to choose from, though.” She says to Danny. 

 

“Thanks. “

 

Two and a half hours later, half the room is bent double, laughing hysterically. The others are grinning, which, for them, is the same as hysterics. In between uncontrollable giggles, Karen gasps, “I mean… Batman!” She wheezes, “It’s just… he’s just-“ She breaks into a particularly violent fit of laughter. “So fucking funny!”

 

“Mommy Martha,” Frank adds, voice low and teasing. 

 

“Wait, your mom’s name is Martha too?! That means we can stop fighting!” Danny giggles. 

 

“If you liked that, we need to watch Suicide Squad.” Matt proclaims. Karen snorts. 

 

“But first,” Trish says dramatically, “cake.” 

 

At four am, Claire mutters that she has a shift in four hours, and, “besides, you all need your beauty sleep.”

 

Jessica mumbles something into the near empty bottle of gin, and then she’s up, Matt detangling himself from a  very sleepy Karen. Frank lurches up, but Matt shakes his head, pushing him back down and kissing him on the forehead. Danny feels like he’s intruding, and he looks away. 

 

Jessica and Matt return a minute later, carrying a mattress between them. They slot it in the corner of the low, L-shaped couch, so there’s more room for them all. 

 

It’s late. Danny is both drunk and tired. He stays. 

 

**(+I)**

 It’s not like he thinks of himself as a Defender. Except when Karen texts him a hand emoji and a location, he doesn't even think about it before he’s sliding into a cab. He strips out of his suit behind the darkened screen between him and the driver. He changes into sweats and a t-shirt and calls Colleen and Davos, explaining the little he knows rapidly. 

 

The car jolts to a stop and he’s piling out, handing a three folded bills to the driver and telling him to ‘keep the suit.’ Then he’s off, sprinting through the alleyways of the compound, springing up onto the low roofs so he won’t be spotted. His phone goes off. 

 

  **~seventy ninjas. yes frank luke jess, no trish matt claire yet. eta? -k**

 

He spots her, well hidden in between two shipping containers, and nods as she looks up, and then he’s swinging off the top and plunging into battle. Three ninjas pounce on him at once, and he has to fight, spinning wildly, to keep on top of it all. Frank is in the middle of it all, shooting them with twin handguns, hitting their shoulders, arms, and legs each time, but never a shot that could kill them. He suspects Matt has something to do with that. Luke stands, stoic, at the edge, and lets them come at him, not flinching as they swing. He takes them down with punches to the gut and face that echo across the boatyard, cracking his knuckles every so often. One of the ninjas swears loudly at him, and he just smirks and kicks her for her efforts. Jessica is darting around, jumping over them when they spring at her and swinging at them when they get too near. He’s not sure when the others get there, but when they do there’s suddenly a lot more noise, more shouts and yells. Maybe the ninjas still outnumber them 5 to 1 but the fight isn't exactly hard, not with 7 of them, fighting, as a team. And Danny isn't going to lie, it feels good. To be a part of something. To fight as a unit, with separate fighting styles but a unique understand of each other. 

 

It takes them half an hour, maybe, and when all the ninjas are either knocked out or running for the hills, Danny feels almost disappointed. Because he doesn't think he’s ever felt such a big part of something, not really. The monks in K'un-Lun were all too old, too foreign, and with the Meachums he was always acutely aware that they weren't actually his family. Which, in hindsight, was Ward’s fault, not his. But with this- this family, this team, the Defenders- he felt important. Like he was needed. Like he would be missed if he left. 

 

Maybe he was finally ready. To join them. To admit he was one of the Defenders.

 

Just the Iron Fist, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Hellcat, the Punisher, the Daughter of the Dragons, Claire Temple and Karen Page- which, wow, is a bit of a mouthful- against the world. Or, at least, against the monsters of Hell’s Kitchen.


End file.
